Go Green to Clean Up on Visitor Attraction

The tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit by Covid, the recovery of which is being linked to green recovery. Here we look at how councils could benefit from encouraging green tourism, including aligning with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals to strengthen their position as a green destination.

The tourism industry, which generates £106bn a year, employs more than two million people and supports thousands of businesses, is expected to lose £37bn from the impact of Covid- 19 according to VisitBritain.

As the UK starts its Build Back Better campaign, the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme has called for the responsible recovery of the tourism sector. Its report, One Planet Vision for a Responsible Recovery of the Tourism Sector, builds on the World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Global Guidelines to Restart Tourism by supporting the development and implementation of recovery plans which contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs are a set of 17 goals agreed by the UN Member States centred around the five Ps – People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. The UK Government signed up to meet the SDGs by 2030 and, whilst there is no formal requirement for local authorities or individual companies to meet them, alignment could make good business sense (see the box for more information on SDGs).

Andrea Nicholas, Chief Executive of Green Tourism, a company which runs an awards certification programme for sustainable tourism, says the SDGs are becoming increasingly important for the sector and local authorities. “We have been running Green Tourism for twenty-three years and over the last ten, but definitely last three to five years, we have seen a growing concern for sustainability,” says Nicholas. “Our programme is about reducing carbon, reducing waste, promoting the local food and drink and heritage and sourcing locally and this is something that is going to become expected. Local authorities not engaging in sustainable messaging for their residents and visitors are going to be left behind.”

Nicholas, who also sits on the Edinburgh Climate Commission, believes greater adherence to the SDGs could become a more formal requirement in the future but aligning policies and procedures could boost visitors regardless. “It is not mandatory for local authorities to report what they are doing for the SDGs but it is likely that it will become mandatory or, if not mandatory, expected that local authorities should be able to demonstrate what they are doing against each of the 17 SDGs,” she notes.

The company has incorporated a code within its certification process to indicate which SDG is being met in its three assessed areas of caring for people, places and the planet. Its work with the Glasgow Convention Bureau, run by Glasgow Life on behalf of Glasgow City Council, has helped Glasgow place fourth in the Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index, a global benchmarking index for business tourism and events destinations, the criteria for which is linked to the SDGs.

Green Tourism works with businesses on a oneto-one level through its individual membership programme, through which an attraction can go through its online supported programme followed by an assessment to achieve bronze, silver or gold certification. Local authorities which run tourist destinations, such as leisure centres or visitor information centres, often seek certification to show they take the green agenda seriously and demonstrate to local businesses what they can achieve.

The company can also work with local authorities at a destination level. For example, it has worked with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Ards and North Down Borough Council in County Down. Over a two-to-three-year period, Green Tourism certified 120 attractions and accommodation providers – some council-owned and some private. The local authorities then used that to promote themselves as a sustainable destination.

Nicholas believes the environmental awareness building before Covid has not gone away and will emerge stronger than before: “Those local authorities that are greener, healthier, more considerate and looking after their residents are likely to attract more visitors to their area,” she adds.

• Find out more about Green Tourism: www.green-tourism.com